1. Field of the Invention
Generally, this invention relates to a bicycle storage system. Specifically, this invention relates to a bicycle storage device for use in an enclosure such as a storage house or a garage or the like to store a bicycle. This invention also relates to a method for storing a bicycle in a garage setting to clear the floor for its intended usage. The designs, requiring little garage area, are particularly suited for storing a bicycle in a tight garage.
2. Background of the Invention
With increasing number of bicycles in a family, storage of bicycles has become a problem. It is desirable to relieve the garage space or storage space in an enclosed garage house for the normal utility to which such structures are intended. It would be further desirable to provide storage means for one or more bicycle within a garage, but without, at the same time, utilizing floor space otherwise needed for the storage of automobiles.
A wide variety of bicycle storage devices have been designed and bicycle storage systems, or a bicycle lifting systems, are common in a market. Among them some are for a single storage of a bicycle while others are for the storage of plurality of bicycles. All the designs have a single purpose: i.e., to store a bicycle or bicycles in a free place above ground within an enclosure, such as a garage or a storage house or the like, so that a usable area in the enclosure can be cleared for automobiles and free access to and from the automobiles and/or for other storage purposes.
As far as the designs themselves, the available bicycle storage devices each have their individual advantages as disclosed in the prior art. A hoistable storage rack for bicycles as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,924,751, utilizes a support bar having horizontally spaced bicycle hooks mounted to hold a bicycle or a pair of bicycles. The facilitating elements are pulley means. Another example of the previous type of invention is the ceiling cycle rack as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,782,559. This rack includes a plate removably extended from the ceiling by a plurality of hooks and a pair of J-shaped hangers attached to the plate and laterally adjustable thereon to engage a bicycle frame. In other examples, the bicycle storage system in U.S. Pat. No. 3,872,972 uses a counterweight device and a cable system to lift a bicycle in a garage, while the multiple bicycle support system disclosed in a U.S. Pat. No. 3,907,113 employs a bicycle support mechanism, a couple of pulleys and a cable to complete the bicycle-lifting job in a garage. In general, these systems are operated mechanically and employ a number of pulley means and ago cables, and/or in combination of a support bar or a plate.
A new type of a bicycle storage system was described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,770,133 that was designed on the principle of a garage door opener. However, this is still a mechanical system. According to this invention, the bicycle rack is moved along a track by a cable trained from a winch thus lifting the bicycle and suspending the bicycle at the ceiling area.
Although the previous inventions discussed above have advantages, there also exist some disadvantages. Uses of a pure pulley system and the support bar or the plate may not be convenient for teenagers or elderly people when they try to lift and store the bicycles. The nature of using a pulley design and a cable requires constantly pulling the cable with both hands and thus may cause inconvenience if the users are the teenagers or the elderly. Sometimes accidents may occur if the cable is slipped away from their hands. The design for using a counterweight device is very nice but the system itself requires more materials than necessary and is very complicated for installation. Therefore, it may not be ideal for purposes of simplicity, convenience and inexpensiveness. The design on the principle of a garage door opener to operate a bicycle rack is a comparatively complicated system and may require extensive energy and labor to install.
Therefore, there is a long felt, but unsatisfied need for the invention while the needed implementing arts and elements had long been available. When a device such as a bicycle storage system is designed for use, it needs to satisfy the common requirements for, first of all, simplicity; second, convenience; third, safety; and fourth, easy installation. The problems existing in the field are the mechanical operability, complexity and unavailability of an appropriate electrically operable device. Substantial attempts by those skilled in the art to fill the need of mechanically operated system that is simple and easy and power operated system that is simple to use and easy to install have not been successful, possibly because of failure to understand the nature of problems.
The present invention has some advantages over the prior art. The electrical operation in one of the preferred embodiments greatly advanced the bicycle storage system. It is simple to use, and suitable for any persons, especially those teenagers and elderly. Use of a reel or reels in the present invention is more mechanically advantageous than other means such as a pulley or pulleys exclusively. The lifting components such as the straps do not merely pass through the reel or reels but wind around the reel or reels for easy storage and operation. Thus, it requires less operating space than what the prior art requires and is simple to install. Application of a crank in another preferred embodiment of this invention has added a safety feature to the system and makes it easier to operate. Until the present invention, the bicycle storage systems in the art have not employed such a reel or reels. Such an electrical operating unit has not yet appeared in the art and thus has greatly improved the efficiency and advanced designs of the traditional bicycle storage system. The design of a reel in combination with a spring successfully balanced the bicycle weight and thus the system only employs an inexpensive motor with minimum power supply to fulfill the function. In addition, this system can be inexpensively manufactured and easily installed.